Pa. officer surprises veteran with replacement of stolen flag

Navy veteran's American flag was stolen on Memorial Day

By PoliceOne Staff

SCRANTON, Pa. — A Dunmore police officer went out of his way to find and return a flag to a Navy veteran after it was stolen on Memorial Day.

Edward Mathewson, 80, had to observe the annual holiday — which this year, fell on the same day as the sixth anniversary of his wife's death — without his usual yard adornment, Citizen's Voice reported.

Several other flags around the area stolen on the same day were recovered by authorities at the Dunmore Borough Building, but Mathewson didn't find his among the pile.

The next morning, however, the flag was fixed to the same pole as always, and Mathewson learned a police officer had tracked it down and put it back with help from a neighbor.

"I didn't even know it until I got up," Mathewson said. "And there it is in the front yard, installed by the Dunmore Police Department."

The officer had asked Mathewson to keep his kind act between them, but Dunmore Police Chief Patrick Reese said Officer Ray Reynolds deserves to be recognized.

"He took that upon himself to do that," Reese said. "That's just the type of guy he is, though. He goes above and beyond to do the right thing."